Preparing and sharpening a woodworking chisel – with Paul Sellers

they are a very nice chisel had to pick up a set

Although I did not need any more bevel Edge chisels I went ahead and purchased a set of the Aldi chisels.
Before starting any sharpening I measured the width of each of the chisels at the cutting edge and half way up the blade. As you can see the width at the cutting edge was only a few thousands of an inch away from the size identified on the blade. I think this indicates that a good amount of care has gone into the manufacture.
I then checked the flatness of the chisel backs, all four chisels had concave backs again I would say by design rather than chance.By using a straight edge and feeler gauges I checked the maximum amount of concave in each blade and then how close to the cutting edge and the back of each blade I could get a 0.004″ feeler.

I have since flattened the back of each chisel to give a minimum of 1/4″ lapped surface at the cutting edge, sharpened them using diamond plates and Paul’s method and removed the machine marks from the bevel edges.
Has anybody done any fettling of the handles yet, I did not want to do anything I might not like the appearance of.

It is quite concerning really that somebody can make tools of that quality for that price, does note bare well for local manufacture.

Nice work David. I picked up four sets as I’m going to flatten the backs and sharpen the edges on two, and make trays for them for Christmas presents for my brother-in-law and father-in-law. I’m going to give another shallow bevels for paring, and the last steep angles for chopping. That’ll be a hard but rewarding days work.

I’m going to smooth the handles a lot with a spokeshave and rasp. Don’t worry about the look, David. The important part is comfort!

George.

I learn something every time. I’ve been fighting to get the whole back of the blade flat instead of just the working surface.

Decided to have a go at the Aldi chisel handles what the heck the worst that could happen is a scrap £8 worth of chisels.
I removed the ferrule from the end and was left with a groove and two dimples that were used for holding the ferrule on, I sanded the handle down which has resulted in a much smoother finish. I do not know if it would be better to shorten the handle to remove the groove and the dimples. May be a problem as I do not know how far the tang of the chisel protrudes into the handle, or to just round the edges of the groove. Once that is sorted I will stain and wax the handles
I am open to suggestions

Hello David I would wonder if the balance may be affected if the length is cut – Perhaps filling the groove may be an option? not wood filler, but one of the sand-able epoxy type fillers.

Hi David,

Those are looking really nice. How much of the handle would you like to remove? I can’t see that the tang would go right the way up into the handle so you’ve probably got some room to work with. Personally, I like them the way they are – I just sanded the handles down to get rids of the plastic like finish and give a more positive feel – but then, I’ve nothing to compare against. I’ve just spent the day making a nice box to put my new chisels in so they can now start to earn their keep. 😉